


Hanging on by a Moment

by jootea



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Actually HELLA slow burn, Career revival, F/M, Friendship, Heartbreak Recovery, Slow Burn, Undisputed antics, WWE NXT, mild angst?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24667957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jootea/pseuds/jootea
Summary: After nearly a decade of being the golden girl of WWE, Adaline Marin wants out. Their ring was no longer home, haunted by her first love and upon reaching her thirties, the face behind "Aspen Glory" wonders if the passion she once had was still ablaze. Instead, she gets sent down to NXT to join the Undisputed Era. The next three hundred and sixty-five days, all captured by cameras for the history books, become a year of revival, reinvention, and realization with her legacy at stake and a new flame from the past emerging.
Relationships: Adam Cole/Original Female Character(s), Becky Lynch | Rebecca Knox/Seth Rollins | Tyler Black, Seth Rollins | Tyler Black/Original Female Character(s) (mentioned)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> idk what this even is. anyway all wrestlers are referred to by their real names

_**August 11th, 2019** _

If Adaline had to force another wide smile for an Instagram selfie to celebrate the _bright and beautiful_ Summerslam week that ended, she was going to completely lose it. The only person who seemed to notice was Trinity and, stifling a laugh at her irritated mood, went out of her way to buy Adaline a drink to help her get through the night. She shot her a relieved look, as she pretended to listen to Nattie talk about her cats for the nth time and trying to stay away from the Total Divas cameras.

"Hey, Addie!" Turning around, she saw that it was Kyle to her rescue. He was waving her over, presumably to join his table on the other side of the restaurant. There, most of the NXT roster and personnel had isolated themselves away from the other talent from Raw and Smackdown.

A thin smile stretched across her face. "I'll be back, girl." A complete lie, as Adaline patted Nattie's shoulder and got up to join her stable mates.

There was a different vibe to the NXT people; the family image and reputation that was painted on the Performance Centre residence wasn't far from the reality. Everyone under the yellow brand stuck together like glue and looked out for one another, something that Adaline hadn't felt in years. Initially, when she was assigned to the roster after nearly ten years on the "main roster," the Canadian felt somewhat insulted. Sure, they wanted a vet to guide the women's division, but she knew it was an excuse for the fact that creative had absolutely nothing for her.

And then, she found out that she was getting put with the Undisputed Era.

Austin smirked when he saw her approach. "You looked like you wanted to die over there." He pulled out a chair for her, always the gentleman.

"Those stupid camera guys put me on edge whenever they're nearby," she grumbled, sitting down in between him and Bobby with her drink still at hand.

"Smile a little. We had a good show," Austin nudged her. "Plus, we're in your hometown."

It was the late hours of Sunday night and as soon as Summerslam went off air, nearly all, if not most, of the on air employees that took part in the event, as well as Takeover, decided to go to a local bar and grill to celebrate. Raw and Smackdown were to follow in the next two days, but they wanted to gather while the NXT talent was still in Toronto. The city was alive and bustling, even dipping into the morning, and so was the entire locker room. Normally, Adaline would embrace the energy and take the time to bask in her surroundings—ever since she moved to Florida, she was rarely home.

Then, they walked in.

Kyle had impeccable timing in calling her over because Adaline was sure that she would have completely frozen up if she was still sitting with Trinity on the other side of the restaurant. As soon as she saw the flash of fiery orange hair, she completely turned her body away from the entrance in the hopes that it would appear as though she didn't notice the pairing appear at all. However, it was hard to do so when a round of greetings emerged from the crowd of wrestlers, upon realizing that the newest company power couple had walked into the room.

"Colby! Becky! Come sit here!" If anyone's voice on the entire roster was going to fill up an entire room, it was Ron Killings. It boomed and demanded attention from the entire restaurant and most people looked up, especially when it was the two biggest faces of the company.

Initially, Adaline thought the only good part about getting moved to NXT was getting away from Colby. He was the only constant in her life for the past decade and moving away to only see him once every few months was. . .different. Ever since the breakup, she wanted to completely erase him from her mind. Sure, that was the game plan for the few times they'd broken up before in the past—which, by the way, horribly failed every time and was the reason why they always seemed to crawl back to each other—but, this time was different. This time, it was for good. Adaline didn't know just how serious that promise was until she heard through the locker room grapevine about them shortly after the Royal Rumble.

"It's natural," Renee had told her one night over dinner at her house. "You guys were together since you were eighteen. Letting go of your first love is hard, especially when you see them everyday at work."

With a mouthful of broccoli, Mox had thought it would be smart to add on. "Yeah, especially when he's walking around backstage with the new chick that he's sleeping with." Though it was meant to be a lighthearted comment towards his former group members, Renee slapped her husband upside on the head for it.

At the restaurant, the only people who didn't care about the couple's appearance—or at least, pretended not to care for Adaline's sake—were her fellow Undisputed members. Bobby and Kyle continued to shovel food into their mouths. Austin didn't even flinch. While the couple entered, Christopher reached over the table to show the group a picture that his son drew of the stable.

Chris grinned. "There's Kyle and Bobby, still with the tag belts, obviously." The duo were at the front and although they were basically scribbles, you could tell which one Kyle was because of the guitar pose that the stick figure held. "There's Austin, with his luscious locks. There's me, handsome as ever. And then, there's you—"

"Um, why don't I have any hair?" Adaline deadpanned, thinking that she was supposed to be Austin in the drawing.

The boys peered over and started laughing. Adaline was clearly the only girl with a pink triangle body for a dress, but was bald. She was in the back, beside Austin, and the five of them were in a square that she assumed was a ring.

Kyle ruffled her hair. "Because you went and made it all white, obviously." The once black haired beauty went all the way in her transformation last month, when she cropped her curly hair to her chin and dyed the locks silver. It was supposed to be a little bonus to her heel turn, but ended up becoming more of a metaphor for her career and being assigned to NXT after all this time.

"Yeah, there's clearly white crayon marks," Austin pointed out.

"What? Oh. My bad." Adaline chuckled a bit, leaning back into her seat. The banter helped distract her easily and she was thankful for that.

She had her reservations about being lumped in as the token female member of a stable again. By the time it was decided that the female was going to be sent to NXT, Adaline had only just recovered from her past in The Shield and worse—Seth Rollins' arm candy. After making history as Smackdown Women's Champion, she thought that this would only be the beginning to the peak. Wrong. Adaline dropped the title to Becky at Wrestlemania and was subsequently shipped off the brand, never to be seen again, until emerging as apart of Adam Cole's crew. She was over it and she hated having sit back and let the men take the spotlight.

But, this was NXT. It was 2019. Adaline had proven that she was a valuable asset to the company, especially after her two years away to share her talents in Japan and thus, creating a deep hole in the women's division of WWE of the time. She wasn't being inserted into the stable to be eye candy or a joke. And, honestly? Adaline loved being around the other Undisputed guys. She was an equal in the group and her time with them completely exceeded her initially low expectations.

Bobby peered over at Adaline, who was just sitting there. "Are you not going to eat anything?"

"No," was all she said.

"We had a good weekend, why are you so down?" he asked, as she called a waitress over to order another virgin mojito.

Adaline was the life of the party. She was capable of shining with the brightest smile in the room, always made sure everyone was included, and was capable of sharing anecdotes that captivated the attention of the entire group. Tonight, she was a shell of that woman.

She replied, "Well, you guys had a good weekend." Adaline's dejected mood came from the fact that she didn't even have a match at Takeover, barely had an impact. It was different now that she was on NXT, knowing full well how methodical and planned out the booking was, as opposed to last minute changes done by Vince on the fly. They simply did not have a place for her on the card and she instead accompanied her members to their matches to support them from the sidelines.

"It's building, Addie and you know that," Bobby pointed out. "You're next in the title picture." And he was right. People in the higher ups were rumoured to be quite high on the Undisputed Era and they wanted all of the group members to be pushed to the top of the pyramid of the brand. They were all next in the title picture, it was only a matter of time.

However, she just wasn't used to it. After being one of the mainstays in the women's division even before the so-called Divas Revolution, Adaline was used to staying at the top. It was a little bit arrogant, but she felt like she had earned her place.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm just a bit bummed out since everyone else seemed to have had a better time than I did." She discreetly glanced over at the other side of the restaurant, where everybody seemed to be talking about the main event that Colby, the newly crowned Universal Champion, had put on.

The waitress came back with her drink and set it down in front of the Canadian. She thanked her and began sipping on it immediately.

The only person who caught Adaline's quick look towards Colby was Kyle, who slapped her wrist to distract her. "Stop it."

"What?"

"It." Kyle pointed at her with his fork with a cocked eyebrow, causing her to giggle. He knew her too well and didn't want her to dwell on her ex any longer.

She replied. "Whatever. I'm fine," Adaline insisted.

The five talked a little bit more for the next while and it remained on the relaxing side. She chose to not rejoin her friends on the other side of the restaurant for the fear that she would have to interact with Colby. Maybe it was stupid, walking on eggshells around him after almost a year since their breakup and it wasn't always like that, but then he went and started dating her friend. The dynamic was different and Adaline didn't know how to handle it. The awkwardness was natural, but she didn't think it would last this long. She missed Becky and to an extent, Colby, too. Together, though, it wasn't the same.

Upon looking at her phone, the clock eventually had run faster than Adaline anticipated, but the establishment was still open and the WWE personnel dining were still lively and going nowhere. She, however, had an early morning flight to Chicago that she'd been dreading since it was planned. The notion of what was waiting for her at her destination caused a knot to form at the pit of her stomach—selling her house. Adaline took one last swig of her drink, swallowing it down along with the thought.

"I have to go," she announced, which left the boys groaning in protest.

This caught the attention of some of the other NXT roster members. "Don't tell me you're already going," Candice tried her best puppy dog eyes on her from the other table. "We just got here!"

Adaline smiled sadly. "I'll see you guys in Winter Park soon." The next set of tapings weren't until the end of the week, but she was planning to get back as soon as possible. That all depended on how quick the process was going to be once landing in Illinois.

It seemed like she was one of the first ones to leave, as it was still within the first hour of everybody arriving. A chorus of goodbye's followed from the crowd. She stood up.

"Be safe," Christopher said, also standing up to give her a quick hug. Among all of the Undisputed guys, Adaline saw him as a big brother figure the most. He'd known her since she was an annoying eighteen year old who demanded the wrestling world at the palm of her hand—now, she was just an annoying thirty year old who demanded it.

She hugged him back, waved at Kyle, and ruffled Bobby and Austin's hair. "Bye, boys." They responded with their own farewells, dejected that she was leaving so soon—as if the five never left each other's sides in Florida already.

The last beast of the night that Adaline had to conquer was grabbing her purse. It was abandoned when she left for the Undisputed boys and remained nestled beside Trinity at her original table. The occupants also included Jonathan, Nattie, TJ, Claudio, and Stephen. All she had to do was walk past the table before them. It wasn't that hard.

Speeding past them, Adaline could swear that she felt a burning sensation at the back of her head and she could only pray that it was just her imagination and not either Colby or Becky staring. It'd been months since they went public with their relationship and Adaline had effectively avoided talking to either one of them unless she absolutely had to. Maybe it wasn't very mature of her, but confronting that reality was painful and awkward. She tried to relax her body, remaining natural, as she approached her destination.

Claudio was the first one to notice her and must've thought that she was coming over to join them because he scooted over to leave a space for her. Instead, Adaline shook her head and instead leaned over to pick up her small purse wedged in between Nattie and Trinity.

"Already? What time is your flight?" Trinity frowned, watching her friend.

Adaline sighed. "In three hours. I'm just gonna grab my things and haul my ass straight to the airport, so I can sleep on the plane."

Another chorus of farewells emerged. The night was finally over and Adaline seemed to have the least amount of energy out of everybody in the room. Most of them had what was going to be, as it always was, a rowdy Raw show to look forward to tomorrow night. There was still a buzz in the air and she truly wanted to indulge in it, but there was just so much on her mind.

Her lack of spot on the card. Colby. Selling the house that she made home with him. Her upcoming contract negotiations. She just needed some alone time in her rental car with the windows all the way down and the music all the way up.

Maybe not alone.

Upon exiting the restaurant, the midnight summer chill planted a kiss on Adaline and she shivered slightly. That's when she felt the draping of a worn, light jacket over her shoulders. Taken aback, she turned around and was faced with Austin's icy blue eyes. He smiled slightly, his eyes disappearing into crescents.

"Hey."

She raised an eyebrow. "Hey." Then, she hadn't even realized it, but he snatched her keys away from her. " _Hey_!" Adaline yelled this time, but he was already gone.

Austin said, "I saw you having a drink. Better safe than sorry, right?" He'd already unlocked her rental car and she began jogging towards him.

"You really don't have to," she stated, even though she knew he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

A year ago, there was no way she could've imagined being in this position. Adaline wouldn't have even dreamed of being friends with Austin once again. Yet, she was standing here, fresh off of a Takeover of all things. She couldn't believe it. Something told her that this wasn't the end of this rollercoaster ride and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to not lose herself in the daze.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> adaline (re)meets undisputed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd love to hear more feedback! the good, the bad, and the ugly idc just let me know what you think!!

**_ June 7th, 2019 _ **

There was always something about Florida that Adaline hated. It reminded her of her days stuck down in developmental, rotting away in that ugly FCW warehouse with a princess gimmick that got her nowhere. Realizing that this was her new home, as one of the currently most decorated talent in WWE's women's division, was like a punch to the gut. It wasn't supposed to be a _downgrade_ , considering the heights that NXT had reached in recent times, but it sure as hell felt like that. Passing by new, unknown faces in the Performance Centre, who gawked at her veteran presence, made it feel like that. Young female talent coming up to her and telling her how much of an inspiration she was to them starting their careers felt like that.

"Yeah, it hurts a bit, but you have to look at the bigger picture." Mattias was the first one to welcome Adaline to NXT with open arms. "It's a fresh start and in all honesty, I trust the suits down here more than the suits up on top." Earlier in the day, he decided to play tour guide and show her around the main backstage area of the Full Sail taping location.

Adaline rolled her eyes. "They all suck." She tried her best to hide her disdain from day one, but being around Matt allowed her to let her guard down. He, of course, went through the same thing when Tyler Breeze was sent packing back to Winter Park after years on the main roster. However, she didn't expect such a twinkling look in his eyes, a hint of happiness in them, considering he was fresh off Takeover XXV on a title match.

Every NXT alumni spoke so fondly of their time down in the black and gold brand. Maybe a part of her always wondered what it would have been like to stay in Florida a little longer in 2012, instead of taking a cannonball into the formation of The Shield. It seemed like Adaline no longer had to wonder on what could've been.

Nothing felt right. She was wearing a stuffy formal outfit, or as close to formal as Adaline Marin could get. Wide legged dress pants and a strappy crop top, if Adaline wasn't going to pay her respects to _freaking_ Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself, there was no way she was going to force herself into anything "professional." In a way, it was almost her method of showing Hunter just how pissed off she was.

She was three months removed from main eventing Wrestlemania and out of nowhere, she's down at the PC with kids who don't know how to perform a suplex.

"Listen, you may be a little pissed off—" was the first thing that left his mouth and Adaline couldn't help but snort.

The last stop on Matt's tour was Hunter's office, where Adaline was schedule for an early morning meeting with him. It was about nine o'clock and she had barely escaped running into any of the other talent. Her debut was supposed to be kept under wraps and while it didn't hurt for a few people on the roster to learn about it, Adaline herself didn't want it to be spread around so soon.

Hunter gave her a pointed look. "We have big plans for you here."

"I sure hope so, because so did a certain other company." The shit eating grin on Adaline's face was more than a little disrespectful, but he wasn't even fazed. Her statement was nothing less than the truth. It was inevitable that other promotions came knocking on her door and had been planning to do so, as the expiry date of her time with WWE had been on the mind of many for months leading up to it.

"You won't regret re-signing, Adaline," he said, choosing to ignore her statement.

Adaline wanted to believe that she wasn't making a mistake, but after months off television and headaches surrounding her contract negotiations, a part of her thinks that she simply re-signed out of annoyance. They saw how well she did when she left for two years and they were afraid that Adaline was going to go and do the same with the three letter A named company looming over their nightmares. WWE was persistent and they promised her everything she wanted and more—only, she wasn't told that it was going to be at Full Sail University.

She forced herself to smile a bit. "Why so?" Adaline was hoping that she would find out what the meeting was for, sooner rather than later. After all, she'd yet to receive word of anything from the creative team and it felt like she was completely in the dark.

A soft whine indicated that Hunter's door was being creaked open. His eyes brightened at the new presence and the corner of his lips twitched upwards. Hunter then turned back to Adaline.

"This is why."

Slowly rotating her body, she raised an eyebrow at the sight. The four members of The Undisputed Era. Austin, Kyle, Bobby, and Christopher. None of them seemed to expect her either, as they stared back in confusion. It took Adaline a moment to put two and two together and when she did, the wind was knocked right out of her.

Nobody could argue with the facts: The Undisputed Era was one of the best things to come out of NXT in recent times. That was definitely saying something, considering the immense talent rumbling at the core of the brand and the stars that have shone after walking away from the shadows of Full Sail. But, that was the thing. Adaline wanted nothing to do with it or NXT. Her own words echoed in her head, what she had relayed to Trinity following her contract negotiations and hearing of the plans they had for her.

"I'm not some young upstart. My career isn't hanging on by a thread, scraping by for a second chance. I didn't just claw out of the indies, looking to prove myself under the bright lights. I've been here, Trin, and I don't need NXT. They surely don't need me."

This was also what she had sent Hunter over email, which he promptly ignored and instead sent her schedule for the week. He intentionally left out anything from the creative team and the upcoming plans for the taping. Looking at the mischievous glint in the King of King's eyes, Adaline realized why.

The first person to greet her was Kyle, whose lips immediately stretched out into a wide grin. "Addie!" He stepped forward and scooped her up from her seat into a bear hug.

For a moment, all of the irritation in Adaline's body washed away and she even let the giggle bubbling at the base of her throat escape. It'd been so long since she'd seen Kyle's goofy smile and his ginger hair. An old friend that she hadn't seen in a long time, even if they both technically worked under the same company. He was like unexpected sunshine after a week of clouds and her heart was wide open for it.

A second body joined Kyle's embrace and she didn't have to look up to know that it was Christopher.

Christopher had been in Adaline's life from very beginning. He was the one that yelled at her the loudest when she was a rookie at the ROH Dojo. When Colby couldn't join her on the west coast, Chris was her road buddy to every PWG show. He hosted her goodbye party when she signed with FCW in 2011 and kept in touch with her up until he finally joined WWE years later.

"No. Way." Christopher started, eyes wide.

She pulled away from the hug and proceeded to walk over to the other two members of Undisputed. Adaline politely greeted Bobby, pulling him into a quick hug. The two weren't as well acquainted, as their paths only briefly crossed in between Adaline leaving WWE and Bobby entering it. He was always nice to her, though, and she only ever heard good things about him through their many mutual friends. The world of wrestling was small and the same social circle ran throughout, no matter the promotion or country.

Then, there was Austin.

She always thought that his smile lit up an entire room, the way his eyes turned up to project nothing but pure angelic energy. He was dressed casually, in basketball shorts and a zip up—as the rest of the group was, it seemed like they had just arrived to the Full Sail arena—but, he made it look too good. Long hair pulled into a bun, so that his clear blue eyes were on full display. Austin was another man that Adaline shared many mutual friends with and their careers had surely intertwined countless of times on different wrestling promotion cards.

That was all Austin was supposed to be, until Japan happened. Very few words were exchanged between the two ever since, even after Austin's explosive Brooklyn debut in 2017 and Adaline's return six months later at the Rumble. They didn't talk unless they needed to, like when they awkwardly exchanged pleasantries at the last company Christmas party.

She nearly forgot about Hunter, who was pleased with what he was seeing. He leaned back into his leather chair, hands clasped together.

He said, "I'm guessing that we're all acquainted with Adaline?"

"Who isn't?" Kyle answered, with a small smirk playing on his face and a side eye towards Austin. The statement held more weight than what was at the surface and Adaline caught on to it, sending him a glare. Someone knew about their history.

Austin cleared his throat. "Hey," he finally greeted her, though his eyes shifted elsewhere, as if he wanted to be anywhere in the world except for that office.

She felt the exact same, but she managed to force a soft small. Keep it professional, realize where they were and why they were there. Her focus shifted to that and her anger towards NXT settled, even just for the slightest amount.

Interrupting them, Hunter grinned. "Good. Because she will be your fifth member of the Undisputed Era."

Adaline had obviously seen that one coming, but hearing it out loud, letting the actual words hit her, felt like she was being drowned. The boys, however, didn't seem to have a clue as to why they were being called in to the big boss man's office. Excitement flashed upon their faces, with the exception of Austin's shocked expression. Eyebrows raised, he contrasted greatly with Kyle's whooping and fist pumping in the air.

"No way," Bobby said, laughing in disbelief.

"Starting this week, Aspen Glory is a member of the NXT roster," Hunter began to explain. "We have very big plans for you five, a definite future in the title picture. We want the WWE Universe to take UE seriously and that starts with gold hanging off of all of your shoulders. What's a bigger statement than all of you dominating each of the title scenes?"

For the first time since the ink dried on her brand new contract, Adaline wanted to feel excited. However, she could feel Austin's looming presence behind her and it equipped her with an uneasy anchor in her stomach, along with the restlessness already settled down there. "You're putting titles on all of us?" Adaline managed to distract herself, sputtering out what she thought she had heard from Hunter.

"That's the plan—" The way all of the four men before Adaline crumbled into complete happiness made her heart wrench. "—for now. Nothing is certain here, but everyone has high hopes."

"Nothing is certain, huh?" Adaline mumbled under her breath, but no one heard her.

Hunter looked at her. "Hey, Marin?" he said. "We didn't fight for you for no reason. You weren't on the main event at Mania for no reason. That also means that you're not here for no reason."

Eventually, the five were excused from Hunter's office, leaving them to face each other outside in the hallway. Kyle was basically bouncing off the walls, Chris grinning from ear to ear, a fired up energy radiating off of Bobby, and Austin. . .well, he didn't look as upset as Adaline would have expected from him. She on the other hand, didn't know how to feel. She was with some of her closest friends in the world and she was just essentially promised a title run. But, being apart of a stable again? Being with Austin?

"Lunch on me, tomorrow. There's no other way to welcome Addie to Undisputed," Christopher announced.

Austin cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, we have to go film some stuff for the Network now." He checked the time on his phone.

If this was how the next months, year, whatever it was going to be, were going to go with Austin, Adaline was sure she was going to end up smashing a steel chair against her head.

"Right. I have another meeting to get to, so. . ." she bit her lip, looking at her shoes.

Bobby grinned. "You're getting added to the official Undisputed group chat."

"She's gonna get sick of your dad memes, man," Kyle remarked, causing the entire group to chuckle.

They began walking together, out into another corridor. The atmosphere wasn't awkward and the tension was slightly alleviated.

"You settled down in the city, yet? I can't believe you didn't say anything," Christopher said, arms crossed.

"Not really, I was planning to do the rest of my packing today," she replied. "I was told to stay quiet about it. And, honestly, it hasn't really sunk in yet." This was said, as she passed by an enormous NXT banner hanging from the top of a doorframe and her eyes remained fixated on it.

Bobby said, "Then, tomorrow's a good day to catch up, since today's so busy. We'll probably get the scripts for the taping by then, too, so we can work stuff out and bounce around some ideas."

They all stopped at the end of the hallway, with Adaline and the men about to go their separate ways.

Adaline opened her mouth, unsure of what to say for a moment, before she pressed her lips together in a smile. "I know a lot of stuff has been going around about me and what I want." There was no way she was going to let the boys think that she didn't want to be with them, but it was inevitable with how high-profiled her negotiations had been and the heat she'd gotten backstage for complaining about being taken off TV. "But, in all honesty, I'm excited for this. I didn't expect it, but I know that it's only going to go uphill from here." She let it slowly spill out, unsure of how to word her thoughts. Her qualms with NXT were still present, but she didn't want it to bring down her new group.

"Hey, I'd be pissed if I were you, too, Ms. Main Event," Austin piped up and she was taken aback by it, not expecting him to talk any more than he had to. "But, you'll like this place. Trust me."

"We'll make sure of it," Christopher nudged her.

The five exchanged their goodbyes for the day, promising to stay in contact and that lunch details would be forwarded to Adaline. She felt a little bad, wondering if her addition to the group threw off any creative plans they had in mind, but they seemed open enough to having her join. She watched them begin to walk away and she, too, turned around.

The day had only begun and it already felt like a whirlwind. There were still dozens of boxes waiting for her to be unpacked in her new Orlando home and she groaned at the thought. Adaline just had to get through one more meeting and she could escape Full Sail, where there were already roster members beginning to arrive to film content for tomorrow's tapings. She wanted to flop onto her bed, the only thing she had set up, because tomorrow was a full day with a trip to the back to the PC and getting settled with the guys. She wished she had someone to help her, but even Trinity in Pensacola was hours away.

That's when it begun to sink in. Adaline was completely alone. Sure, she had friends living in the area, but they were constantly scattered all over the country for RAW and Smackdown loops. The only familiar faces were Matt and Curtis, along with some other friends that she had yet to see, but they weren't family in the sense that some of her other friends were. That's who they became when Adaline exhausted herself, immersed in road life for the past decade.

"Uh, Adaline?"

She spun around, surprised once again by Austin, as he jogged towards her. The rest of the group was gone and he returned on his own. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Listen, I know we didn't really leave on the best foot in Japan and it's messed things up ever since I got here." Austin scratched the back of his neck. "But, since you're kind of stuck with me for who knows how long, it's probably best that we bury everything. For everything that happened, I'm sorry. Are we good?"

Adaline's eyes were wide. "Really?" She couldn't believe that stubborn Austin, the guy who never really was mature enough to own his mistakes out loud, went out of his way to clear the air. He would be the type of guy to beat around the bush or make up for things through his actions, but to apologize out loud?

"Really." He smiled, eyes turning up in the way that Adaline once fell for. That thought got stuck in her throat and she almost wanted to cry, but she blinked the emotions away hard enough. "You got us, Marin. It's been tough for you the past while, but the boys and I got your back."

Then, she began to realize that, maybe, she wasn't all alone. She didn't have to be unless she let herself. Adaline froze for a moment, before sticking out her hand. Austin, with a pleased expression on his face, took it and shook it gently, warmth radiating off of him.

"We're good."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and so the doc begins. kinda background heavy (i think i just really miss the shield lmao) and a tad boring thorry but queen shayna makes her first appearance of many and i kid you not i love her even if shes portrayed this way LOL

_** June 8th, 2019 ** _

Adaline couldn't believe that she didn't just agree to this, but agreed for it to be done for an entire year. It wasn't like she cared about being in management's good graces and volunteered to do it, but she somehow got hoodwinked into agreeing to a 365 special on herself. She was the last person in the world to enjoy having cameras on her when she was out of the ring and no longer Aspen Glory. Doing interviews out of character for Adaline felt like pulling teeth. She avoided Total Divas at all costs. Even appearing on stuff like Ride Along and UpUpDownDown was difficult for her.

"Just call me the modern day Undertaker," Adaline rolled her eyes, but she smiled a bit, as she sat down for the camera.

She liked her privacy as much as any other wrestler that had cameras constantly on them, but especially since fans liked to pay extra attention to her life for whatever reason. Adaline attributed it to her once long term relationship with Colby, highly publicized at several points because of whatever dirt sheet rumours and private leaks that were thrown their way. She was quiet at all times, her Wikipedia page only covering her wrestling career, as she had been as vague about her childhood as possible in the past.

Raising an eyebrow at the producer, Craig, a few feet away, Adaline wasn't sure where to begin. "I can just talk about anything?"

Anything but the few things on the "no mention" list. Most were contributed by WWE, but a lot of other things were provided by Adaline. This included her past relationship with Colby outside of kayfabe and _especially_ anything to do with Nikki Bella.

"Start with talking about your career so far. You can name drop companies and non-contracted performers, but only because we'll be editing whatever we don't want aired, anyway."

"Right," she shifted slightly, unsurprised. "Well, I'm turning thirty-two this fall, so this will be into my sixteenth year of doing this thing."

She wasn't exactly sure why the Network executives wanted to give her a 365 special. As far as she knew, most of the episodes were focused on wrestlers overcoming serious injuries or taking the next great step in their careers. Was this what NXT was supposed to be for her?

Craig's expression remained blank, as he pushed his semi rimless glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "You started at sixteen years old?" His eyes never left the clipboard in front of him, where she assumed was a list of prompts to ask.

"Yeah, I dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and I worked retail and other random part time jobs for two years while training and working local shows in Toronto. Bingo halls, high school gyms, random parking lots, you know," Adaline explained further, still trying to loosen up her tense shoulders. "When I turned eighteen, I dropped everything and moved to the United States because I knew I was limited, wrestling where I was wrestling. I was an illegal alien with no plan and just a few hundred dollars—the dumb indie wrestler dream."

It'd been so long since she looked back at that time in her life. Once embarrassed by her roots, Adaline felt a warm, fuzzy feeling at the pit of her stomach and couldn't ignore the swelling of pride in her heart. She'd come far.

The look on Craig's face induced Adaline to continue, so she took a deep breath. "My early work happened in Pennsylvania, where I fought my way into gyms and I mean _fought._ It was really hard at that time for a woman to be taken seriously. It was guys like Drew Gulak and Jon—" Although Craig said that she was allowed to name drop non-contracted performers, she was positive that uttering the former Dean Ambrose's name wasn't worth it. "—um, who helped me learn the ropes and culture in that area. Chikara's Wrestling Factory really helped me out and I did stuff for them and other places like CZW. Drew was the head trainer at the CZW at the time and was one of the first mentor figures I had."

If Adaline had to put her money on it, she would have said that Craig was bored out of his damn mind, but then again, he had the same expression on his face ever since he walked into the room. "Did you just stay in the northeast for that portion of your career?"

"I ventured a bit more west as time went by. Definitely lingered around Illinois for a while, since it's where the top independent women's promotions were at the time. Funnily enough, I ended up living in Chicago for about ten years after that." To be with her boyfriend, but she didn't mention that. "I did some time on the west coast, not as much as I wish I did, but I definitely had some fun doing stuff in California and for a split second, Mexico. Three years into working in the States and I somehow, by a miracle, land myself in the locker room of Florida Championship Wrestling."

To this day, Adaline wasn't exactly sure how she got in. The tape that she sent the developmental recruits was god-awful and her tryout promo was more than cringy. However, looking at other people in her recruitment class, it was clear that officials and scouts looked at potential over everything—how well could they be molded into the WWE standard, the ceiling of their entertainment value. She wasn't sure if she should feel flattered that they saw that in her or not or if they simply saw that she could be easily manipulated.

"It was definitely a time down there. Difficult, yes, but I learned so much." Adaline could recall nights crying into her pillow out of frustration for where her training was going and how she was treated by the other talent. Girls often claimed how hard they were judged for being models and dancers before coming to FCW, but it was just as hard being an "arrogant indie schmuck." There weren't many women from back then who could relate to the garbage that she went through.

Craig asked, "Do you think performers then had a harder time in FCW than the recruits down in the PC and NXT today?"

She paused, taking the question in. "Not a harder time, per say, but the process is much smoother now, while being more of a burden. We have the state of the art Performance Center now, compared to that warehouse we used to train in. NXT gets so much more exposure now that it's harder to reinvent yourself at your own pace." Adaline said. "In a way, because NXT is now its own brand, I would say that talent from the FCW era were much more catty in the sense of starting drama and wanting to move up to get on the road with the main roster talent. The divas division back then was a very different culture to the women's locker room here at Full Sail, which is now very welcoming. Everyone wants to help each other, not drag them down."

There was nothing Adaline wanted to do more than expose certain names, but she held herself back. The catty environment, the hazing, the drama and sabotage, was too much for her. She was just glad that she move on from there quickly, as her memories in developmental hurt her as much as they did help her.

"And after FCW?"

Adaline grinned. "Oh, come on. Everyone knows what happened after that."

For the first few years, she was afraid that the only reason she got lumped in with The Shield was because she was Colby's long term girlfriend and that they assumed he would be most comfortable with her as their valet. After all, Adaline wasn't exactly progressing as a character in FCW. She was scared of that, and only being considered as eye candy and a side item for the boys. It took years of understanding from other people and seeing the product in the eye of the executives that they truly must have seen potential in her.

And if all of the above were true anyway, then Adaline made damn sure to prove herself to be otherwise in the past few years.

"My time with The Shield was everything I could ask for and more. I'm glad I spent that portion of my career with those guys, I don't think I could have found my way around without them. We were all definitely kind of lost, but we had each other, and we were really family." She wanted to say _are_ family, but things were different these days.

Adaline talked to Joe the most, at least up until her move to the yellow and black brand. He texted and checked up on her often while she was off TV. Jon came here and there, but things were different. She only kept up with him through Renee, since the man clearly had yet to discover how to reply to a text.

Then, there was Colby.

Things were good the first couple months after the big finale. As fine as they could be, really. They were on different brands leading up to Wrestlemania, which contributed tremendously to the smooth sailing. After the Royal Rumble, though, things got. . . weird and of course, she hadn't known it yet, but it was around the time he started seeing Becky.

"Hey, Becks, some of the girls are going back to my hotel room after the show," Adaline had tapped Becky on the shoulder after catching her outside of the trainer's room during the later hours of Elimination Chamber. "You gonna come and kick my ass in Mario Kart?"

For whatever reason, Becky's expression dropped. "Oh, uh, actually, I'm just gonna head back to mine. Call it in early, y'know?" Tripping over her words, the fluster in her voice was a tad suspicious to Adaline, but she brushed it off.

She'd proceeded with her plans with Pamela and Leah, playing video games into the early morning. Adaline didn't even think of Becky and her obvious excuse until Leah mentioned that she ran into Becky on her way back to her own room.

"It was written all over her face! Someone definitely got lucky that night," Leah mused at the makeup table, two days later at Smackdown. "Who do you think the guy is? She's definitely not one for random hookups."

Adaline knew that she wasn't owed an explanation to Colby's new love life, but she was a little disappointed that she figured it out on her own. The little things, the rumours she heard backstage, all pieced together for her to realize what was going on between the two of them. Maybe Adaline wouldn't have felt so ruffled about it if it wasn't made to be so weird and secretive. She didn't tell anyone what she found out, keeping it to herself until they announced it themselves.

"Stop making excuses for him, I know why he's late." She didn't even look up from her phone, as she waited in the passenger's seat of the group's rental car. "He's with her, right?"

This was at the tail end of The Shield's farewell era in February earlier that year. Though, Adaline was not heavily involved in the storyline as some expected her to be—the escalation to her own Wrestlemania feud had been going on and she had duties to fulfill on the Smackdown brand. She wasn't there for the buildup throughout the month on Raw, but she was able to join the reunion at Fastlane. It was the group's last match together and the group begged personnel to let her be apart of at least the final moments.

Joe and Jon simply exchanged looks with each other in response. They clearly knew about the couple and probably found out from Colby himself. While nobody said anything to Adaline about it, deep down, they all knew that nobody needed to. She knew Colby more than possibly any other person in the world and the two weren't surprised that she figured it all out.

"Right." Jon was the one who chose to break the awkward silence. "Well, he can meet us there. Let's get this show on the road, we got some beautiful people waiting to see my beautiful face at that bar." It felt a little wrong to not wait for Colby on their way to the roster's "Goodbye Shield" party at a local watering hole, but even Joe was sick of waiting and started the engine.

"We had the time of our lives in that initial run. There's just too memories that I'll cherish forever, you know. But, my memory of all time is surprising the fans at Fastlane, when I showed up to accompany the boys to the ring one last time and having that farewell embrace as the show went off air." Adaline quickly blinked back the tears, as sensitive as ever, but she didn't like showing that side of her to the camera. "I swear to god, time seemed to just completely _stop_ for those few minutes. It was out of this world, nothing like it."

The most magical part of wrestling was the crowd, there's no denying that. On the eve of Fastlane, Adaline felt mountains of love and excitement from the fans, knowing that they were witnessing the end of an era. All four of them knew it was the end of an era, in many ways more than one. Adaline and Colby, who were always known as a collective, rather than individually, were now apart and were now moving on from each other. Mox chose to chase his dreams elsewhere, away from the three that became his family. Joe's legacy in the industry was building and building, year by year. They were no longer the people they were in 2012, having finally gotten a taste of wealth and glory after early years of struggle when the four used to share a single hotel room to save costs.

She'll always be grateful for her run with The Shield. At the beginning, she was just happy to be in a main roster storyline. She was just happy to be able to maximize her time with Colby. Beyond that, Jon and Joe became her family. Bickering over who's turn it was to drive after long house shows, getting to know Joe's kids, playing video games in the locker rooms and every hotel room, and nobody leaving the trainer's room until everybody was clear. No one got left behind.

Back then, it was like that. Now? Adaline can't help but feel like she's come to that point, without any of the three by her side for the first time in a decade.

Craig sighed a little too loudly, rolling up his sleeve and glancing at the shiny watch on his wrist. "We're running out of time. We'll touch on your time with The Authority and everything since then for our next interview day, maybe also dig a little deeper into your new alliance with Undisputed Era." Adaline tried not to breathe a sigh of relief, already worn out from the questions. "Last thing. What are your expectations going into NXT, considering all that you've gone through in sixteen years?"

A question that she didn't know the answer to.

* * *

"It's good catching up with you. You have your locker number?" Coach Bloom stood up from his chair from across the desk, extending his hand for Adaline to shake.

She nodded, taking his hand. "Yes, sir. I'll be on my way, then."

Being called into the head trainer's office was similar to the feeling of being called into the principal's office and she had more fear in her body than someone who had just arrived should have had. That was the feeling that Bloom gave off to all NXT residents, but she knew that there was always care behind his tough demeanour. He simply wanted to welcome her properly to the PC on her first official day.

Meanwhile, Serena had been sitting to the side of the two of them and she couldn't confine the grin stretching across her face. When they had shook hands, she instead pulled her old friend into a tight embrace.

"I'm so happy you're here," she whispered into her ear, not caring that Bloom was rolling his eyes at them, mumbling about something for the two women to take it outside of his office.

They had only reunited so few times since Serena signed on as a coach for the Centre a year ago and it only made the moment feel so much sweeter. At the very beginning of Adaline's career, Serena had served as such a helpful mentor figure, even going into their short lived time in the FCW women's locker room together. To have their paths intersect once again, at yet another pivotal part in Adaline's life, seemed poetic in a sense.

Adaline walked out of the office, in tow with Serena. "I guess I'll be responding to your drills again, huh?"

"And you better do it damn well," she raised an eyebrow at the younger woman. "I'm still in shock that you're here. They really didn't want you going anywhere else, huh?"

Shrugging in response, the Canadian sighed. "I'm in shock, too—considering that NXT wasn't apart of the plan." Adaline was getting tired complaining about how the wool was pulled over her eyes during her contract negotiations, but it was starting to fully settle in. Meeting the guys in Hunter's office softened the blow. It was time to shut up and accept the facts.

"People everywhere watched what you did all over the world during those two years that you were gone. You don't need this company to be a star, they need you," Serena said. "Have you maybe considered that you're here because you did all you could do on RAW and Smackdown?"

Those words echoed in Adaline's head, as she trudged into the women's locker room.

It had almost ten years since she started this journey in this company and it seemed like almost everybody that started with her had already grown tired of it. Her first road wives, April and Celeste, were long gone. Danielle decided that she was worn out and was gone. Trinity had recently taken time off and wasn't sure when she was coming back to the ring. Saraya, someone who Adaline thought would be wrestling in her sixties, was retired. Even the goddamn Bellas weren't around anymore. Ninety percent of the division from a decade ago was gone. Wasn't she exhausted, too?

She envied women like Becky and Pamela, who were still hungry for more. There were others who had just made the main roster and some down with her in NXT now, who suffered through the struggles of the indies and were still ready to claw up to the top. Adaline wondered where that drive was for her.

Every locker was labelled by ring name, some with more long-standing plates—mainstays like Io Shirai and Bianca Belair. Meanwhile, others simply had a laminated piece of paper slapped on top of the metal. These were the recruits who had yet to prove themselves, the names that Adaline couldn't recognize.

A shiny, new plate shone on the locker that sat at the corner of the room. _Aspen Glory_ , it read, in all of its permanent lustre.

She slammed her gym bag onto the bench, the impact echoing throughout the empty room. The process felt foreign, making a locker home when Adaline spent so many years travelling to probably hundreds of different arenas and treating each space and moment as temporary. She wasn't sure where to begin, as she unlocked the door and was met with a clean, baby blue interior.

There were some basic things that she brought, like extra socks, a water bottle, and shower shoes. Adaline quickly filled the locker up with these contents and it still appeared so barren to her. What the hell else was she supposed to put in it? She shrugged, not thinking too much about it. Then, she heard the door creak open.

Somewhat hidden away from the front of the locker room, Adaline could hear a distinct voice that seemed to be talking to someone over the phone and a smile formed, hoping it was who she thought it was.

"Yeah, that sounds good for dinner. I just got into the PC, I think Cheree's already waiting for me. You know how she is, she's always early. Alright, bye, Johnny, I love you. See you."

A flash of blonde hair only confirmed Adaline's suspicions. It was Candice LeRae, who hummed the melody of a 90s pop song and chewed bubblegum, as she strolled over without noticing the other female in the room. She easily unlocked her name plated locker, which was across from Adaline's, and nearly everything spilled out from it being too full.

She groaned. "Oh, crap," Candice said, trying to chase a bottle of dry shampoo that had begun rolling across the floor, only to be met with Adaline's bemused expression.

"Hi."

"Hey," Candice replied with a grin, a little perplexed.

Almost instantaneously, they pulled each other into a hug. Knowing that she would be diving head first into the unknown, Adaline was aware that she couldn't navigate all on her own. The two Breezango idiots were too busy figuring their own things out and she couldn't voice her anxiety to her new stable mates, wanting to give off a confident face. There were only so many people that Adaline could turn to outside of them, so she gave Candice a heads up that she was now reporting to the Performance Centre.

Adaline bent down and reached out for the lavender can for her shorter friend, passing it to her. "Your shit's a mess, girl."

"Yours will be, too. Give it a month," she rolled her eyes and peeked over her shoulder at Adaline's belongings on the bench. "You're moving in today?! I honestly did not expect to see you here so soon."

"I told you that I landed a few days ago, didn't I? I've been in meetings all weekend," Adaline replied with a groan. She had only been in Orlando for such a short amount of time and the amount of work and settling she had to do was taxing. The NXT tapings hadn't even begun, yet.

Candice said, "Yeah, it doesn't really slow down for another week or so. You'll love it here, I promise." As everyone else had promised Adaline, who clearly wasn't convinced.

The blonde turned around and put the can back into its place—if it even had one, in that mess of a locker—and began rummaging through her personal possessions. Candice let a out a soft _a-ha!_ when she found what she was looking for at the back of the space, a Minnie Mouse hairbrush. Adaline chuckled softly at the sight and turned around, closing her own locker.

"Are you off to go workout?"

"Yeah, Cheree's wanted to get some cardio in. Any more meetings today?" Candice replied.

Adaline shook her head. "No, just moving in." She gestured to her gym bag and locker.

"Well, while you're here, the taping schedule is posted up by the west wing double doors, you know, the ones to the main gym. We can check it out together. Actually, would your name even be on there?" Candice thought to herself, considering that she was one of the few people who were made aware of Adaline's presence. The taping schedule wasn't usually subject to the change unless there was an injury, but producers were known edited the cards last minute to accommodate random returns and debuts before, at least once the talent found out.

The woman in question just shrugged in response. "Beats me. It doesn't hurt to look, right?"

"Then, we can check out the travel schedule. Ooh, I hope you're coming with us to the midwest loop at the end of the month!" Candice became giddy. "We'll hit the road together, no men! I wish we got to do that more often when you were in Cali."

Adaline didn't get the opportunity to do so often, but she loved wrestling in The Golden State and especially in PWG. When she worked with them in the past, she always travelled and hung out with Candice.

"I don't think so, but probably the next one?" she shrugged.

The two began chatting more for the next few minutes, mostly about Adaline settling in and her new house. Always the lazy type, she'd been procrastinating and the boxes in her home were left untouched, despite her promising herself that she would get it all out. The small talk about something other than wrestling for once settled the restlessness in Adaline, a small distract of sorts.

It wasn't like she _disliked_ talking about wrestling, rather it was all that seemed to be on her mind for the past while since Wrestlemania. Somehow, it was the first time Adaline really took notice of that, considering she lived, breathed, and ate wrestling for the past sixteen years of her life. A part of her felt worrisome for the sudden awareness of it, wondering it had any relation to her other career concerns.

Unfortunately, the brief, sweet wrestling-free moment was cut short when the locker room door slammed open.

Everyone knew who Shayna Baszler was, or at least, every woman in the company did. After all, the current NXT Women's Champion was probably next in line to overtake your spot in the animal kingdom. Management wanted to push her to lead the division once she would inevitably leave NXT and become a box office draw for all of the big pay-per-views and tours and media.

Some said that Shayna was one of, if not, the most intimidating women on the NXT roster and bore a vicious gaze. Even upon entering the locker room that was nearly empty, her presence demanded attention. All eyes drew to her so naturally and so quickly as they tore away from her out of fear.

"Out of my way," was all she had to say to Adaline, not even flinching at the sight of the veteran and former women's champion.

Adaline zoned out for a moment, completely baffled by the attitude that she was just given. She couldn't help but scoff, trying to process the disrespect that was being shown to her.

She narrowed her eyes at Shayna. "The hell did you just say to me?"

In between them, Candice just sighed. It seemed like that she wanted to end what was going to be an ugly dispute early, but something held her back. Adaline hoped it wasn't out of intimidation by the former mixed martial artist.

Shayna stared back at the woman in front of her. "You think you can just waltz in here and act like you got this brand on lock? They get tired of you on the main roster and Japan couldn't offer you enough money, so you come down here to fuck around?"

Adaline wanted to find out how Shayna found out that she was going to be here, but that wasn't the main concern of hers. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground, hearing Shayna's words. Clearly, she didn't like her or some rumours already began to float around backstage. Regardless, Adaline was already on the bad side of the de facto locker room leader.

With the fury running through her body, though, she didn't give a damn.

"I'm going to say this once, so you better listen up," Shayna began, "I think you're entitled. I think that you've ridden on the coattails of your ex-boyfriend for your entire career. So, I don't like you. Plain and simple."

"You think you know me?" Adaline's voice began to rise, but Shayna held up a hand and didn't let her finish.

She said, "Maybe for you, being here is like a little vacation before someone like Ashley Flair gets injured and creative will need another spoiled brat to bury their women's division with on Smackdown. For some of us, NXT is our entire lives. Don't mess that up for us."

With that, Shayna bumped Adaline's shoulder when she walked away to the other side of the room and behind a wall to another area of lockers. All she could hear after was the stomping of boots and the slamming of a metal door open. Meanwhile, she was in complete shock of the conversation that just happened, wondering if she just imagined it.

Looking at Candice's sheepish expression, though, it confirmed that Shayna Baszler did indeed strut right up to Adaline and cussed out one of the scariest warnings that the latter had ever heard in her life.

"Honestly, she gives that talk to every new girl," Candice said in a low voice, as she ushered Adaline out of the locker room.

"You can't be serious," Adaline shot back, still worked up over what happened. It took all the will in her body to not barge right back in and swing at Shayna's smug face.

The target was now on her back and she had yet to even step into the yellow brand's ring. If she was being honest, it was definitely a wake up call to where she was now and the expectations weighing down on her shoulders. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't even want to be here. Adaline wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was terrified for the first time in years.


End file.
